Black Race Team Owner Donates Memorabilia to Smithsonian

WASHINGTON — The first African-American race team owner to compete in the Indianapolis 500 will be donating memorabilia to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Leonard Miller is the former owner and president of Black American Racers Inc. The team entered a car in the Indy 500 in 1972 and was ranked within the top 60 racing teams in the world in the mid-1970s.

At a ceremony on Wednesday, Miller will donate items including trophies, clothing and the steering wheel from a car driven by one of the team’s drivers, Tommy Thompson. The artifacts will join the museum’s sports history collection.